Door curtain for vehicles



I Aug. 7,- 1923. 11,464,379 D. M. WINANS DOOR CURTAIN FOR VEHICLES Filed March 7 1921 Patented Aug. 7, i923.

DANIEL M. WINANS, OF BINGI-IAMTON, NEW YOEK, ASSIGNOE TO THE BREWER- TITOHENER CORPORATION, OF BING-HAMTON, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

DOOR CURTAIN FOR VEHICLES.

Application filed March 7, 1921.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL M. VVINANS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Binghamton, in the county of Broome and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door Curtains for Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

The most approved practice of equipping an automobile with door curtains, especially cars of the open or touring class, is to support the door curtain by an upright rod preferably received in a stitched or hemmed pocket in the curtain and having itslower end stepped or received in a socket in the molding at the top of the door. or a bracket connected to the door, the rod being usually carried by the toe end of the door. Consequently as the door is opened or closed, the curtain swings with it and the curtain is out of the way when the door is open.

My invention relates to door curtains of the foregoing class and it has for its ob ect the provision of improvements whereby the curtain in the region of the upper end of the supporting rod will be protected against puncture by the end of said rod, thus overcoming what has heretofore constituted a serious defect in this class of curtains.

Another object is the provision of improvements which enhance the stiffening and supporting effect of the rod on the curtain in the region of the upper end of said rod, beside improving the appearance of that portion of the curtain.

My improvements embody, first, a cap applied to the curtain to serve as an abutment for the upper end of the supporting rod; second, a two-part cap of improved construction to serve the foregoing purpose; third, the combination of a protecting and housing cap with the curtain and the upperend of the supporting rod, all to accomplish the objects hereinbefore specified.

I am aware that my invention may be carried out in different forms and ways and I do not limit myself to the specific form of two-part stamped metal cap hereinafter described in detail and which is shown in the accompanying drawings.

The two-part stamped metal cap, however, I have found to be well adapted to carry out Serial No. 450,175.

the objects of my invention and I therefore lay claim to this cap as such.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is a perspective of a part of an automobile having a rear door curtain provided with my improvements;

Fig. 2, is a detail vertical section showing the upper end of the rod the curtain, and the cap;

Fig. 3, is a detail cross-section through the parts of Fig. 2;

4, is an outer view of the inner cap section;

Fig. 5, is an inner view of the outer cap section; and

Figs. 6 and 7, are detail side views of the cap sections as they appear before being secured to the curtain.

One of the doors of an automobile of the open class is shown at 1, the same being hinged at 2; the automobile top appears at 3.

The curtain for the door 1 is shown at 4, said curtain having any suitable curtain fasteners 5 to button it in position.

Present day practice involves the use of a stiffening and supporting rod 6 whose lower end may be received in a socket in the molding at the top of the door or in a bracket carried by the door. This rod is, therefore, securely supported by the door at the latching or too end of the door and it is received in a vertical pocket or sheath 4* extending adjacent the edge of the curtain. Consequently, when the door is being opened or closed the curtain swings with it and when in closed position the curtain is held firmly by the rod so that the flapping of the curtain is minimized.

In curtains which are sup orted by a rod such as indicated at 6, it is found that after a certain period of use the upper end of the rod punches through the upper part of the curtain, disfiguring the latter, permitting the curtain to wrinkle and sag, and greatly lessening the effectiveness of the rod in its supporting function.

My present improvements are designed to overcome this difficulty by providing an abutment for the upper end of the rod 6 and for strengthening and reinforcing the curtain in the region of the upper end of the rod, housing the end of the rod, and

stiffening the corner of the curtain and otherwise preventing wear and tear.

A cap is provided for this purpose which, 1 am well aware, may assume different specific forms.

The improved cap which is shown comprises the parts 7 and 8 each of dome-shape, the outer cap section 7 being provided with prongs 9 which pass through the curtain and after passing through slots 10 in the section 8, are bent down through openings 11 in section 8 and then against the curtain at the upper end of the pocket or sheath 4;. The two parts of the cap are thus firmly clan'iped together and lie on opposite sides of the curtain, each section being provided with an arc-shaped flange 12, said flanges together constituting a substantially circular col-- lar which reinforces the sheath 4". The cap 8 has a flange 8 to prevent cutting the curtain; the slots 10 are provided in said flange. The cap section 7 is also provided with a flange 13 from whose margin extends the prongs 9. The dome-like cap sections 7, 8, constitute a housing for that p art of the upper end of the sheath 4? which is enclosed thereby and the clamping together of the cap through the sheath 4, it is immaterial because the caps 7, 8, then serve as a direct abutment for the end of the rod and no further damage to the curtain from this cause is possible.

The cap 7 also gives a finished and ornamental appearance to the curtain.

The cap sections 7, 8, are made of metal stampings which enables them to be manufactured easily and inexpensively. I do not, however, limit the invention to the formation of the cap sections 7, 8, as stampings or as being of metal, nor to the particualar fastening means disclosed and described for connecting them together, except as described in the claim.

What I claim is:

The combination with a vehiclecurtain provided with a sheath adapted to receive a supporting rod, of a two-part cap comprising members arranged on opposite sides of the sheath, one of the members being provided with prongs, the other member having openings, said prongs passing throu h the curtain and being engaged with t e other member of the cap and bent through the openings aforesaid into the interior of the last-named member and against the sheath.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature,

DANIEL M. VVINANS. 

